1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the field of audio-visual systems. More specifically, the invention comprises a display mount incorporating an integrated audio system.
2. Description of the Related Art
Throughout this disclosure the terms “television” and “video display” are used synonymously. While some persons previously drew a distinction between these two terms on the basis of whether the particular unit included a tuner, this distinction no longer makes sense as most displays now have the ability to serve multiple purposes (such as the ability to serve as a computer monitor and a display of cable television programming). In any event, the integrated display and audio system disclosed in the present invention functions equally well for any of these units.
Video displays are now commonly used for both residential and commercial purposes. The technology underlying these displays has changed dramatically over the past several years. Picture-tube based displays were previously the standard. Such displays were inherently bulky, with the depth of the unit being comparable to its other dimensions. While the bulk made the units visually unappealing, space within the cabinetry did provide ample volume for the inclusion of integrated audio systems. A picture-tube television having a diagonal frontal dimension of 40 inches (about 100 centimeters) typically had a cabinet depth of about 30 inches (about 75 centimeters).
With the advent of modern electronics and their inherent space efficiency, much of the cabinet space available in picture-tube televisions was left vacant. A television manufacturer could easily place relatively large speakers (such as 4 inches by 6 inches) in the vacant space within the cabinet. Speakers of this size provided a rich tonal quality to the sound produced.
The prior art changed dramatically when tube-less designs appeared. These are generally referred to as “flat screen” televisions. Examples include liquid crystal displays (“LCD's”) and plasma displays. Flat screen televisions are typically very thin. In fact, limiting the depth of a flat screen television has become a styling goal for most manufacturers. A flat screen television with a diagonal frontal dimension of 40 inches (100 centimeters) may have a depth of less than two inches (5 centimeters). The television's perimeter is typically made even thinner. The perimeter is often less than one inch (2.5 centimeters) thick.
The visual performance of modern flat screen televisions is a significantly better than picture-tube based televisions. However, the limited space within the “cabinet” of a flat screen (to the extent one can even call such a thin structure a cabinet) leaves very little room for audio components. The lack of space has forced flat screen manufacturers to use increasingly smaller audio transducers.
Another styling goal of the flat screen manufacturers has been to occupy as much of the forward-facing surface as possible with the video display itself. Thus, the audio transducers which are present are often now in a sub-optimal orientation; that is, the speaker cones face to the side or even to the rear of the television and do not direct the sound energy toward the user. The result is that—while the video performance of these devices has progressed markedly—the audio performance has at best remained stagnant and has in most instances deteriorated.
A consumer buying a high-performance flat screen television often desires a “home theater” experience in which the sound quality is comparable in volume and range to the sound heard in a movie theater. Such a consumer will not be satisfied with the limited acoustic performance of a modern flat screen television. The consumer must therefore bring in additional components to solve this problem.
Audio solutions for home theater systems are widely varied and complex. FIG. 1 gives one simple example. Flat screen display 10 has been mounted on a wall using one of the available mounting systems. Separate components are housed in rack 24 (which may be anything from a simple electronics rack to an elegant piece of furniture designed specifically to conceal the components). Rack 24 typically encloses a cable or satellite decoder box, a DVD player, a video game console, and an amplifier 12. The amplifier may be a sophisticated PRO/LOGIC decoding system (such as offered by Dolby Laboratories of San Francisco, Calif.) that splits the audio signal into at least four channels—typically referred to as left, center, right, and rear (The rear channel sometimes known as a “subwoofer” channel).
Cables run between rack 24 and flat screen display 10. In this example, a two channel audio cable 14 is run from the television to amplifier 12. In other examples, a single HDMI cable may be connected from the cable box to the amplifier, with a second HDMI cable running from the amplifier to the television. These represent a hard-wired connection between the amplifier and the television.
The speakers are also connected to the amplifier. Left channel speaker 22 is connected via speaker cable 26. Center channel speaker 16 is connected via its own cable (not visible in the view). Right channel speaker 20 and subwoofer 18 are also connected to the amplifier via speaker cables 26.
The system shown in FIG. 1 produces reasonably good audio performance. However, the reader may easily perceive the irony of the situation. In creating ever-thinner flat screen televisions the manufacturers have created an elegant and “clean” appearance for the visual aspects of a home entertainments system. However, in so doing, they have reduced the audio performance of the television itself to an unacceptably low level. The typical response to this problem is the addition of numerous other components and cables which completely destroy the visual aesthetic originally sought.
The present invention seeks to resolve this dilemma by integrating an external audio system into the television's mount. The reader will benefit from an understanding of existing mounting technology. Modern television mounts attach to the rear of the television or the base of the television. The volume immediately behind the television is typically not used. FIG. 2 represents a common wall mounting system for a television. In this example, wall bracket 28 is attached to the wall by passing bracket mounting bolts 36 through the bracket and into the wall studs or masonry. Uprights 32 on TV bracket 30 are attached to the rear of the flat screen television by passing TV mounting bolts 34 through the uprights and into the television. TV bracket 30 is then slidably engaged with wall bracket 28 (with the television attached).
Many other mounting systems exist. The TV bracket in some of these other systems attaches to the wall bracket by pivoting into position rather than sliding. The general concept of having a first portion attached to the wall and a second portion attached to the television is used in nearly every prior art mounting system, and it is in fact preferable to use this approach for the present invention as well.
A significant gap typically remains between the rear of the television and the wall itself. This gap is mostly occupied by the mount itself. The present invention seeks to take advantage of this potentially available space by creating a mounting system with at least a portion of an integrated high-fidelity audio system in this space.